KARACHI: It is extremely important to remember the tough times or ordeals after undergoing which a nation gets to realise its dream. The prime reason for it is that only by recalling the difficult past can we pave the way for a comfortable future.

Pakistan gained independence after sacrificing countless lives. Those lives are not as often discussed, especially in the world of art, as they merit. A photo exhibition titled For the Sake of Pakistan which can be seen at the Pak-American Cultural Centre (PACC) aims to achieve the same goal: refresh memories of the time when migration for a great cause at a huge scale took place because of which many a life was lost.

The caption of the poster for the show reads ‘rare historic photographs of immortal sacrifices of Muslims minority in India at the time of partition in 1947.’ It’s an apt caption on multiple levels. First of all, the images on view are indeed historic. Secondly, the adjective ‘immortal’ describes best the kind of disturbing stories that unfolded in those days. And then there are the pangs of migration.

The photographs, as can be expected, are black and white. But the mayhem and bloodshed that the viewer can witness in them summon all the colours of blood, gore and hatred that caused those terrible events to take place. For example, the pictures of mobs around dead bodies or damaged cars or hundreds of passengers perched on top of a train because there’s no room for them inside the carriages to travel across to Pakistan … they are not easy to look at. And yet, they entail in them a lesson that ought to be learnt by all Pakistanis — freedom is precious.

The exhibition will conclude on March 26 (today).

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2021